Author: Michelle Ye Hee Lee

Democratic challengers sailing a wave of displeasure with Republican leaders in Washington are collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars — sometimes in a matter of days or weeks — as anti-Trump fervor is translating into hard cash for this fall’s midterm fights. In Texas, Harvard Law graduate and refu­gee activist Alex Triantaphyllis has raised nearly as much the incumbent, Rep. John Abney Culberson (R-Tex.), who is seeking his 10th term. In New Hampshire, first-time congressional candidate Maura Sullivan — a former Obama administration official who served in the Marines — has raised twice as much as the leading Republican...

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn). (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) defended presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s comments highlighting the benefits of the Brexit vote for his business, saying Trump was giving an example of how currency fluctuations after the historic decision could affect Americans. During a news conference in Scotland after the Britain’s referendum, Trump said about the plummeting value of the British pound: “Look, if the pound goes down, they’re going to do more business. When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly. And the pound has gone down, and let’s see what the impact of that has.” This comment, which referenced his golf resort, has drawn criticism from opponents and is being aired in a new attack ad by presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “He was giving an example, which is obvious, that when the currency fluctuates, as it does … more Americans are going to be able to travel to the U.K. more cheaply,” Corker said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “Some of their exports may go at greater value. I thought it was just demonstrating, you know, an anecdotal statement relative to its effect.” [Trump celebrates Brexit vote: ‘When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry.’] Corker, whom many top Republicans consider a contender to be Trump’s running mate, added that Trump’s Scotland event, which coincided with the Brexit vote, underscored the presumptive nominee’s identity as a businessman and political...

Paul Manafort is a senior adviser to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) Paul Manafort, chairman of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump’s campaign, denied that the campaign is falling behind likely Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’s and said “major announcements” will be made this week about national and state-level leadership changes. The Trump campaign has struggled to reset for the general election amid internal feuding. A Federal Election Commission report last week also revealed that his fundraising lagged behind Clinton’s considerably. But appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Manafort insisted that the Trump campaign has been organizing behind the scenes for several weeks. “Our campaign is organized. We’re ready. We’re going to have a good convention, and we’re confident that we are not behind the Clinton campaign,” Manafort said. “They’re musclebound. We’re not.” [In move to reassure donors, Trump converts $50 million of campaign loans into donations] Manafort said the campaign has operations in key battleground states, and has plans and budgets in place. The campaign is now integrated with the Republican National Committee, he said, and plans to make announcements about “major positions” this week. When asked about last week’s firing of embattled campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, whom he replaced, Manafort said Lewandowski “was a part of a historic campaign, and Donald Trump recognizes that. But the campaign has transitioned to a new phase. We’re now in the general-election mode of the...